Citgo Petroleum, the U.S.-based refiner formerly owned by Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA, has bought its first Venezuelan crude under U.S. control, anonymous sources with knowledge of the situation have told Reuters. Citgo, which is the seventh-largest refiner in the United States with a total capacity topping 800,000 barrels per day (bpd), is in the process of being acquired by an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management in a court-ordered auction to pay off PDVSA’s debt to creditors.   Citgo was one of Venezuela’s top…

Citgo Petroleum, the U.S.-based refiner formerly owned by Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA, has bought its first Venezuelan crude under U.S. control, anonymous sources with knowledge of the situation have told Reuters. Citgo, which is the seventh-largest refiner in the United States with a total capacity topping 800,000 barrels per day (bpd), is in the process of being acquired by an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management in a court-ordered auction to pay off PDVSA’s debt to creditors.   Citgo was one of Venezuela’s top…

Brent Crude prices topped $70 per barrel early on Thursday for the first time since August, as U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran that a “massive armada” of U.S. Navy ships is headed to the Persian Gulf.  At the time of writing, Brent Crude prices had jumped by 4.71% at $71.62. This was the highest in more than five months and the first time the international benchmark has topped $70 per barrel since early August. The U.S. benchmark, WTI Crude, was also trading higher, up by 4.79% to $66.24. WTI topped $65 per barrel for the…